Winzer's Success Stories: Robert Sipos

Can you tell me a bit about your time at the Hotel Winzer?

When I started out as a young chef back then, Renate Winzer was still running the kitchen on her own. It worked in my favour that at the Hotel Winzer, both opportunities and pay are performance-based. My pay was adjusted after just three months, and after a year the Winzer family approached me and asked how I envisaged my future career path.

I’m from Hungary and my wife was still there at the time. So it was clear to me that I would only consider a long-term role if there was a place for Krisztina at the hotel too.

I didn’t necessarily want to become head chef from the outset, but over time it turned out that I was taking on more and more of Mrs Winzer’s responsibilities, and I enjoyed it.
In 2019, I had a discussion with Markus Winzer, and by that point I wanted the position of head chef and the Winzer family wanted to hand the role over to me.  

What do you think has changed for the better?

The Winzer family has handed over quite a few responsibilities in recent years, and the kitchen has become much more independent. The whole hotel, and with it the management style, has moved with the times.

You’re from Hungary – what made you decide to stay here? And specifically here at the Hotel Winzer?

Before I joined the Hotel Winzer, I had already been working in Germany for six years and I wanted a job closer to home. I’ve found a really good role and a top workplace here. In the hospitality industry, two key factors are job security and pay, and the Hotel Winzer ticks both boxes. Plus, my wife has always liked the area here. There was never any reason not to stay here. I’ve built a life here with my family. Thanks to my working hours, I also have plenty of free time to spend with my family, which is very important to me.

How do you keep your team together, even in difficult times?

I’m not a traditional head chef like Gordon Ramsay, for example. I don’t shout at people. I want a team where teamwork counts, and that’s what I convey. It’s just as important to me that we can all own up to our mistakes. Because these happen from time to time in our day-to-day work.
If an employee is really having a rough patch, I bring them back down to earth and list the positive aspects. If things aren’t going so well, we try to sort it out together. 

What do you like best about your job and your workplace?

I like the whole package – the kitchen is simply my world and I wouldn’t want to be without it.